Big mining’s age of austerity far from over

Facing criminal and civil penalties over the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE:ANR) will pay $200 million to settle a suit leveled by the U.S. Attorney in Charleston, West Virigina.

Anglo American said on Tuesday its board had approved the $1.7 billion Grosvenor metallurgical coal project in Queensland, Australia, which is expected to produce five million tonnes per year over a projected life of 26 years. The London-based diversified miner said it plans to triple production of met coal in Australia over the next 8 years.

Tata Motors, India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and the world’s fourth largest truck manufacturer, has launched the new TATA Prima 3138.K 8X4 tipper equipped with an Allison 4430R transmission at the 6th International Construction Equipment and Construction Technology Trade Fair (EXCON) 2011 in Bengaluru, which is organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. The company states that the tipper model is ideal for carrying overburden in coal, iron ore, limestone and other applications involved in the heavy mining industry.

The Philippines will offer 30 coal exploration projects in the central and northern provinces, where mining is not yet banned that may need total investments of $600 million at a tender to be held in the first quarter of 2012.

London-listed Churchill Mining Plc is threatening Indonesia to seek international arbitration, saying that the company was unlawfully deprived of a US$1.8 billion coal discovery in the jungles of Borneo Island. The East Kutai project is a huge resource with a JORC compliant estimate of 2.7 billion tonnes of coal, acquired by Churchill in 2007 through an acquisition of a 75% stake in Indonesian group Ridlatama.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that eight mines around the country have received letters putting them on notice that each has a potential pattern of violations of mandatory health or safety standards under Section 104(e) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. The PPOV screening from which these letters resulted represents the second since MSHA established the current criteria and procedures in September 2010. The eight mines that received letters are as follows: (Click on the headline to read the list and rest of story)

Remember those pictures and videos of cars and trucks bobbing down a surging river in Brisbane? It could happen again. Business Standard reports that severe weather could be on its way to Queensland towards the end of the year: La Niña —a weather phenomenon characterised by unusually cool sea surface temperatures, leading to heavy rains in the Pacific region such as the Queensland floods — has re-emerged but is expected to weaker than last year, metrological agencies have said, adding that the La Niña could strengthen in intensity moving into 2012.

North American stock exchanges are on a tear today after central banks made more funds available to lenders, giving investors hope for a way out of the European debt debacle. The markets were also cheered by better than expected private sector job growth in the United States. The mining-heavy S&P/TSX Composite was up 2.5% to just over 12,000 at time of writing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 384 points, or 3.3%, the most on a closing basis since Aug. 11, according to Bloomberg. Spot gold was up $32 from yesterday to $1747 which is just above the 20-day moving average of $1744, noted Kitco. Silver was up marginally to $32.86 from yesterday's $31.92, while benchmark copper was up more than 5% to a two-week high of $7,885/tonne. Zinc, lead, aluminum and nickel were also up from Tuesday.

Australian landowner Ian Moore has taken to court his battle against coal company NuCoal, which wants access to drill three boreholes on his property north of Sydney for its proposed Doyle’s Creek mine. Moore says he opposed the operations because of the potential damage it could cause to underground water supplies and because he is legally blind and relies on a visual memory of his property to farm, which the drilling operations and bore holes could hinder. The beef farmer has been backed up by locals, who fear their property could be next.